best of polimoda show 2014 – by sophie joy wright

Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,

The 21 best graduate collections were presented on Tuesday night at Polimoda. After recently visiting London graduate fashion week, I was quite interested to see how they compare.

Beatrice Salvatori

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“Unknown People” used a very nice mix of classicism and textile innovation that was clever, clean and intriguing. Models wore hats that were proportionately stretched upwards and outwards that felt religiously avant-garde, and along with the lovely shoes, this presented a complete, clear message. A favourite of ASVOF.

Barbara Sanchez Kane

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This collection was a disturbing and amusing assault. Drawing upon her Mexican heritage, Barbara presented an hyper-masculine aggression but with a sense of humour in her motifs like “Mom approved” on garments.

Claudia Susini

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The three words I wrote during this show were structured, grounded, mature. Claudia’s collection was intelligent in her use of unconventional textile combinations, but at the same time, didn’t seem ‘techy’ nor that of a gimmick. Most of all, it felt very much not like a student collection.

Hitomi Liu

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Unmistakably Japanese, this collection was a collage of colour, textile and volume that was completely over the top but felt fresh, whimsical and self-aware. [cover image]

Vladimir Makhalov

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One of the quieter presentations of the evening, with clean lines that still left space for volume at certain angles without ever being ‘poufy’ as one might expect from a collection based on Russian Folklore. It was more of an abstraction of Vladimir’s theme; with a simple palette and one-hue looks that kept it sophisticated and calm.

 

Of course London is the epicenter of young and upcoming designers, there was a strong sense that Polimoda – with the quality of design and concept development that we saw from all the collections on Tuesday – has something to say about this. 

 

Happy Thursday,

Sophie Joy

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Sophie Joy Wright

@sophiejoywright

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